Box blade vs land leveler

Fred Werring · Mar 5, 2020

Got a half mile long gravel drive.

Keeps getting pothole in the same places. I keep a pile of 1/2" crusher run gravel to fill them before I use the grader blade and land leveler to smooth things out. 2-3 weeks later, the potholes are back.

The guys at the Friday morning McDonalds meeting claim a box blade with rippers will dig out those potholes so they don't come back...as fast.

Willing to buy a box blade if it will help, as my better half has this theory that if you go fast enough, you just sail over the top of the holes. Kinda hard on suspensions.

Yes, I tell her to slow down, and that works for a few days. But her positives have far out-weighed her negatives for 32 years, so....

What do you think? (about the box blade)

Thanks

Fred

BobReeves · Mar 5, 2020

Kinda in the same boat. Every 3 or 4 years the gravel deteriorates into pot holes. I run the box blade with rippers down and really tear up the drive, make several passes. Level it as best I can with the box blade then go over it with my landscape rake with gauge wheels to really level it. Now it's ready for a couple loads of new gravel. Delivery guy tailgates it and does a really good job spreading it over the drive.

Fawteen · Mar 5, 2020

I've never used a leveler so I can't really compare the two, but I find my box blade with scarifiers does a GREAT job.

Cutting the pot hole out will indeed solve the problem longer than just filling it, PLUS you can tilt the box blade to put a little crown in the drive to drain the water, which helps prevent pot holes in the first place.

8deers · Mar 5, 2020

Crushed concrete will eliminate the problem

MarkB_MI · Mar 5, 2020

If you have a persistent pothole, then your road doesn't have proper drainage at that point. Elevating the road further, adding a drainage ditch or installing a tile are ways you can solve your issue permanently. Also, your road should have a slight camber so water tends to drain to the sides.

showcrop · Mar 5, 2020

As others have said you have to cut to the bottom of the potholes to eliminate them, and to level it gauge wheels are a tremendous help. The type of aggregate makes no difference provided that it is crushed, but 1/2 inch is too small. It should be 3/4. As MarkB said you need a good crown for the water to run off. Give it more crown in the areas where the potholes develop, which you will note are level areas. You will never see potholes on a hill on dirt roads, only on level stretches.

Geo-TH,In · Mar 5, 2020

Fred,
Don't care what you use, when you drive on gravel your wheels will create a hump in the middle and hump on each side of the road trapping water where you drive. When the water splashes out, some gravel goes with the water, potholes.

I like to use #8 gravel. It doesn't splash out as easily. Sometimes I mix in a little dirt to prevent water from getting around gravel. Loose gravel is more likely to move creating 2 ruts in the road.

Once a year I repair my friend's half mile drive. My biggest challenge is preventing water from running down the middle of the road on the hill. Water caused potholes.
George

RobCons · Mar 5, 2020

I dont have a leveler so my box blade gets the call. Use the rippers to dig up the drive. Angle the box blade by adjusting a lift arm to a different length. If you buy a box blade get the heaviest one you can. Weight is your friend.

Gary H. · Mar 5, 2020

Look at a grading scraper. There are several companies making one. Yu have the scarifier teeth to dig and 2 blades to level. Most make 5'- 6'- 7' and 8' models. Does a lot better job of leveling if you have a lane that long.

Traditional Farmer · Mar 5, 2020

How good of a job any tool does is dependent on the skill of the person using.

showcrop · Mar 5, 2020

(quoted from post at 06:05:13 03/05/20) How good of a job any tool does is dependent on the skill of the person using.

TF, ??????

4wdtom · Mar 5, 2020

Do you have a good crown? If the surface is flat/level water will pool at some point and become deeper and deeper each time a tire splashes water and mud out of it. You need a crown to get the water off the road.

dpendzic · Mar 5, 2020

normal road crown is 1/4 inch per foot to get the water to run off

SVcummins · Mar 5, 2020

Box scrapers are very good for maintaining roads and building roads and parking lots

Traditional Farmer · Mar 5, 2020

So what is the question?

BHpony · Mar 5, 2020

Fill potholes when there is water in them for it to bond to rest of the road. It works for me.

Texasmark1 · Mar 5, 2020

I always used a box blade and thought I wished I had a leveler. If I would have had the latter I probably, like you, wished I had the former. Apparently things aren't going to plan. What works for me is the bucket on the FEL and the reason being the elevation determining devices (tires on the ground) are on the leveled ground, not on the uneven ground. I realize you can't start there and the bucket is perfect for getting the pile spread out in the first place.

JK-NY · Mar 5, 2020

Box blade is a handy tool, the scarifiers (rippers) on most of them are not strong enough to rip very much in compacted gravel without breaking something. I bought a used box blade years back that had been damaged by using the rippers and was able to repair it. Your potholes are caused by soft spots in the driveway, and the soft spots are caused
by water. You need to address the drainage/ water issues if you want to fix the potholes permanently. Or you can get the box blade and use it to do just about what you are doing now, maybe it will work a bit better for regrading the driveway .

Dave H (MI) · Mar 5, 2020

Every forum in the world has a windbag with an opinion on everything and more time than brains. I think it has to do with post counts. They want to be the guy with the most. They aren't hard to miss. Some type of "comment" on a large number of posts, regardless of relevance.

Blackhole49 · Mar 5, 2020

Every ones conditions are different. I have a 6' box blade very similar to this:

https://www.external_link.com/tsc/product/countyline-box-blade-6-ft

I maintain a 1,000' gravel drive for the neighbors with it. If I try using the rippers any time but early spring or a very wet fall, I will bend or break the ripper mounting points or hitch. I usually can cut the pot holes out in the spring and keep at bay with 3 or 4 grading's during the summer. They have only added gravel twice to this drive in 25 years. If they would add it every 4 or 5 years, I could keep it pot hole free. Without material, hey, what do I know?

Traditional Farmer · Mar 5, 2020

(LOL) Well that makes 3 of us I guess.

Adirondack case guy · Mar 5, 2020

You need to dig out the softer soil under the pot hole area, install some geo-tech fabric in bottom and backfill with course stone first and then top it with a thick layer of your crusher run and compact it with a vibratory compactor. That is the perfect solution. Since most people don't have the equipment to do this, your best bet is to grade a crown on your roadway and keep the ditches on both sides flowing so water can't puddle where your tires run.You can adjust your 3pt linkage so your blade or scraper so it will cut more gravel from the edges and move it to the center to form a nice crown in the center of your roadway.------------------------Loren

550Doug · Mar 5, 2020

(quoted from post at 12:48:17 03/05/20) You need to dig out the softer soil under the pot hole area, install some geo-tech fabric in bottom and backfill with course stone first and then top it with a thick layer of your crusher run and compact it with a vibratory compactor. That is the perfect solution. Since most people don't have the equipment to do this, your best bet is to grade a crown on your roadway and keep the ditches on both sides flowing so water can't puddle where your tires run.You can adjust your 3pt linkage so your blade or scraper so it will cut more gravel from the edges and move it to the center to form a nice crown in the center of your roadway.------------------------Loren

Yes, vibration, just like frost, will move the large material upwards and the smaller material will go down and collect in pockets. Then the water will wash away the small material making it look like water is the problem. The real solution it to prevent the larger material in the base from moving upwards, hence the laying of the fabric.

BarnyardEngineering · Mar 5, 2020

Chucking gravel into the potholes and smoothing them over is the WORST thing you can do. As you've seen the pothole comes right back, sometimes within days.

You need to rip up the area where the pothole is, BELOW the bottom of the pothole, and regrade the area.

Bob Harvey · Mar 5, 2020

All the replies about removing the pot holes are pretty much on the nose. I gave up using crusher dust on my driveway a few years ago. I now use 'road base'. It has fines and larger (still small) aggregates that pack well together and haven't had a pot hole since.

Box blade vs land leveler

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